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Agrotech, IT, Machinery - Pre-harvesting, Machinery – Post-harvesting

The agro solutions app will create an additional source of earning for the farmers

Sonalika Tractors has launched ‘Sonalika Agro Solutions’ tractor and has implemented a rental app to bridge the gap between farmers and hi-tech farm machinery – from land preparations to harvesting. The platform connects the farmers with a huge range of machinery renters that offer high tech agricultural implements on rent within their vicinity. The farmers can choose from various options available as per their convenience and requirement.

‘Sonalika Agro Solutions’ tractor and implement rental app supports the farmers to do farming in an effective way by making the right farm machinery available at right time. The app also assists skilled operators in the area to check out employment opportunities and earn a better living for their families.

‘Sonalika Agro Solutions’ app will create an additional source of earning for the farmers who are owing agriculture implements as they can register themselves as freelancer renters. This app can be downloaded from ‘Google PlayStore’ without much hassle. Also, registration on this app is free of cost and anybody can register to avail of unique services from Sonalika. There is also a tele customer support team to assist farmers with the registration process, in case of any assistance.

Raman Mittal, Executive Director, Sonalika Group, said, “We have launched ‘Sonalika Agro Solutions’ app especially for tractor and implement rental, through which the farmers can check advanced farm machinery available nearby as per their crop requirements through their smartphones. The app will provide a platform for enlisting the tractors/implements on rent or availing the same on rent by the respective interested farmers.”

Equipment owners/service providers and farmers that will hire equipment on rent or avail any kind of services by using the ‘Agro Solutions’ tractor and implement rental app would not be required to pay any service charges to Agro Solutions/International Tractors.

The agro solutions app will create an

Acquaculture, IT

Aquaconnect has an opportunity to work with Google mentors and industry experts on tech guidance, machine learning, product strategy

Aquaculture technology platform Aquaconnect has been selected for the fifth class of Google for Startups Accelerator (GFS) India. Out of the 700 start-ups screened for the programme, Aquaconnect, along with 15 other start-ups, has been selected to be part of the GFS India programme.

Aquaconnect works with 35000+ fish and shrimp farmers using AI predictive tools for better farm productivity and connects them with formal finance, insurers, and processors to improve Indian aquaculture value chain efficiency.

Under the GFSA-India programme, Aquaconnect has an opportunity to work with Google mentors and industry experts on tech guidance, machine learning, product strategy, UX and design, leadership workshops, networking opportunities and Public Relations support.

The company raised $4 million in July in pre-Series A round led by Rebright Partners and Flourish Ventures. AgFunder and 6G Capital also participated in this round, along with existing investors Omnivore and HATCH-Norway.

On the selection in the eminent GFSA programme, Rajamanohar Somasundaram Founder and CEO, Aquaconnect, said “We are looking forward to receiving mentorship and support from the network of Google and industry mentors for more inclusive solutions to navigate the challenges in the aquaculture value chain.”

Aquaconnect has an opportunity to work with

Finance, Start ups

AgNext will use the funds for scaling its full-stack platform for AI-enabled trade to solve for trust and transparency in global food value chains

Deep-tech agritech start-up AgNext Technologies has raised a total of $21 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI) fund, which is backed by DisruptAD and managed by Falcon Edge. Existing investors Omnivore and Kalaari Capital also participated in the Series A round.

 

With this new capital infusion, AgNext will now enter newer commodities, strengthen its pan-India presence and expand to international markets such as the Middle East, Europe, and South Asia. The funds will also be used for the development of its tech platform Qualix, to enable quality-driven trade transactions across the food value chains. Additionally, the company will also establish a new office in Abu Dhabi for deeper penetration into the targeted markets by diversifying its commodities portfolio and accelerating innovation to make food trade better, fairer, and more secure in the new geographies.

 

 

AgNext will use the funds for scaling

Acquaculture, IT

The AI-driven solution will include a mobile app that is powered by the SAS Viya platform

International aquaculture consultancy and farmer Blue Aqua International will partner with SAS and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to develop a smart aquaculture solution to boost local production of fish and shrimp in the Asia region including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and India.

The partnership will create a collaborative ecosystem to support the local aquaculture industry in the region through the development of a smart aquaculture solution for farmers. The AI-driven solution will include a mobile app that is powered by the SAS Viya platform. This will enable farmers to gain insights on critical parameters in aquaculture such as water quality, feed management and animal health through real-time data analytics technology.

The application is specifically designed for farmers in Asia, taking into consideration common species grown, farm infrastructure, weather and insights on common disease challenges in the region.

Farmers will also be able to receive alerts on the app informing them of any potential issues and the appropriate remedies needed. The constant collection of data can also help generate dashboards to provide users with analytical insights on the quality of their farms.

“The solution will help in monitoring the culture environment and provide the insights that will support our productivity and yield goals for our smart aquaculture farms. With our extensive network and expertise, we are also able to bring this solution to the aquaculture sector in the Asia region,” said Dr Farshad Shishehchian, Group President, CEO & Founder, Blue Aqua International.

“We aim to help farmers draw insights from data to help boost product quality, drive efficiency, lower costs, and increase capacity while maintaining a commitment to sustainable high-quality farming,” said Kong Hoe Chan, MD, HPE Singapore.

The AI-driven solution will include a mobile

Finance, IT

The platform intends to work and support 3,000+ FPOs impacting over 15-lakh farmers

Unnati, a fintech-driven agriculture ecosystem, has joined hands with Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) to empower farmers with tech-led business solutions by enhancing their economic strengths and market linkages to improve their income. 

 

This year, Unnati intends to support 3,000+ FPOs that impact 15 lakh farmers. There are plans to increase this number to 10,000+ FPOs that will uplift the lives of one crore farmers by FY24.

 

Unnati is equipping the FPOs to leverage collective strengths and bargaining power to access financial and non-financial inputs, services, and technologies. This will allow the FPOs to optimise transaction costs and tap into high-value markets. Envisaging the empowerment of small farmers by supporting the FPOs directly via the digital FPO platform, Unnati has plans to do achieve this through digital payment services such as UPI, credit/debit cards, mobile wallets, etc., banking services, output sales, loan services, and brand promotions. The platform will also hold agro advisories and conduct farm predictions to reach its goal of enhancing farmers’ lives. 

 

Amit Sinha, Co-Founder, Unnati said, “The FPOs, with Unnati’s digital solutions, will augment the farmer management, accounting, and inventory management, and will help streamline operations while also bolstering the overall business process. With these FPOs, we aim to ensure farmers have access to a one-stop solution that will provide them with digital solutions to improve their quality of life. We will be coming up with more such associations soon.”

 

 

The platform intends to work and support

Finance, Start ups

The platform will use the funds to continue expanding its user base

India’s farmer-centric networking platform, Krishify, has raised $2.7 million in a pre-series A funding round led by Omidyar Network India, Ankur Capital, and existing investor Orios Ventures. Co-founders of Country Delight, Nitin Kaushal and Chakradhar Gade, also participated as angel investors. The platform will use the funds to continue expanding its user base, currently at 3.5 million users and growing 30 per cent month-on-month, as well as create robust monetisation channels.

With the current raise, Krishify is looking to become India’s largest farmer-centric platform for the agri ecosystem, enabling both information exchange and transactions at scale.

Rajesh Ranjan, Founder & CEO, Krishify said, “We are targeting to onboard at least 100 million users and unlock a GMV potential of over $10 billion in the next three to four years. In the next 12 to 18 months, we are eyeing over 10 million weekly active users.”

The platform will use the funds to

Agro chems – Pesticides, Environment

The move will address risk from chlorpyrifos and protect children’s health

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will stop the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on all food to better protect human health, particularly that of children and farmworkers.

In a final rule released recently, EPA is revoking all tolerances for chlorpyrifos, which establish an amount of a pesticide that is allowed on food. In addition, the agency will issue a Notice of Intent to Cancel under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to cancel registered food uses of chlorpyrifos associated with the revoked tolerances.

Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate insecticide used for a large variety of agricultural uses, including soybeans, fruit and nut trees, broccoli, cauliflower, and other row crops, as well as non-food uses. It has been found to inhibit an enzyme, which leads to neurotoxicity, and has also been associated with potential neurological effects in children.

EPA has determined that the current aggregate exposures from the use of chlorpyrifos do not meet the legally required safety standard that there is a reasonable certainty that no harm will result from such exposures. Several other countries, including the European Union and Canada, and some states including California, Hawaii, New York, Maryland, and Oregon have taken similar action to restrict the use of this pesticide on food.

EPA is continuing to review the comments submitted on the chlorpyrifos proposed interim decision, draft revised human health risk assessment, and draft ecological risk assessment.

The move will address risk from chlorpyrifos

IT, Warehousing

Arya and NCDEX are training 150 farmers from five FPOs of 50 villages in Maharashtra for marketing of their produce through commodity exchange

 The National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) partners with Arya – India’s largest post-harvest Agritech player to deliver a series of knowledge sessions for farmers and FPOs in Maharashtra.

 Profitable market linkages are a critical aspect for better realisation by producers. Through its knowledge services platform, Arya and NCDEX are training 150 farmers from five FPOs of 50 villages in Maharashtra for marketing of their produce through commodity exchange. Based on feedback and progress is expected to be expanded to further states and FPOs on mutual agreement.

In the previous year, Arya partnered with the UNDP, CDC-DFID, and various government organizations like UMED, MAVIM and UPSRLM to provide knowledge services and training to 150,000 farmers across the country.

Commenting on the session,  D. Chattanathan, Co-founder Arya said, “Arya has been trying to improve the income stream of famers by enabling access to finance, storage and market linkages nearer to the farm gate. Tech-enabled practices will only help the farmers improve output quality, increase productivity and ensure better returns for their commodity. These capability building and skilling programs prepare small holders and their organisations to embrace technology and innovative solutions which inturn will enable them to improve their incomes.”

 Piyush Jain, Manager – FPO team, NCDEX said, “Through its exchange facilitated market linkage offering, NCDEX endeavors to impart greater transparency, efficiency and better price for farmers produce. We hope our collaboration with Arya in training farmers on commodity exchange offerings will increase smallholder participation in exchange transactions.”

Arya and NCDEX are training 150 farmers

Agrotech, Webinar

The goal will be to connect those looking to develop bio rational products with industry partners

The World BioProtection Forum (WBF) will host a free virtual webinar on October 12, 2021, for stakeholders, from across the agri tech sector to discuss the use of adjuvants and soil health in agriculture. The webinar is relevant to start-ups, SMEs, entrepreneurs, innovators, multinationals, academic institutions, research organisations and end-users.

A key goal is to connect those looking to develop bio rational products with industry partners who may be able to support the realisation of these products into commercial materials. Experts in the field will connect with the stakeholders in the bio protection sector to discuss how to overcome the challenges.

Dr Minshad Ansari, Chairman, WBF said, “There are numerous challenges with formulating crop protection products, and the agri tech sector has developed numerous adjuvants for enhanced persistency, penetration, UV protection, wetting, etc, but for bio protection products these solutions also need to be biocompatible. To bring bio protection products to market in a practical, usable form, ‘collaboration for innovation is key – if we can connect the bio protection sector, we can help advance the industry by providing products that are practical to use, and work in the field as well as in the lab.”

Professor Shashi Sharma, President, WBFsaid, “In the 21st century, our focus must be on soil health and the underpinning microbiome to explore and discover the winners that will enable us to transform the unsustainable global food production systems to sustainable systems.”

The goal will be to connect those

Agro chems – Pesticides, Agro Universities, Sustainable Energy

Discussions were held on agricultural sustainability and prosperity of farmers

The Research and Extension Specialists Virtual Workshop for rabi crops was recently held at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), under the aegis of the Directorate of Extension Education. More than 300 participants including senior officers, joint directors, chief agricultural officers, officers, scientists, extension workers, ADOs, AOs from the departments of agriculture and animal husbandry, faculty and students from PAU and Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University Administration Block (GADVASU) attended the workshop.

 

PAU Vice-Chancellor and Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Development, Government of Punjab, Anirudh Tewari, in his remarks highlighted policy perspectives geared towards agricultural sustainability and farmers’ prosperity. Tewari congratulated the scientists of PAU for exemplary strides in research as well as extension, with special mention of the unflinching efforts of PAU and the Agriculture Department in increasing the area of Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) in Punjab from 5 lakh hectares last year to 6.01 lakh hectares in 2021. “This is a huge service rendered to the state and the country by conserving water,” he stated.

 

Tewari urged the agriculture development officer (ADOs) to remain in constant touch with the university and to create a database of all ADO along with their touchpoints in the university. On the same lines, he directed all the scientists of PAU to personally mentor the ADO’S so as to further strengthen the link with farmers. He shed light on how all the dividers on the national highways of the state would be lined by flora to encourage beekeeping as a subsidiary occupation among state farmers. 

 

Tiwari also dwelled on the issues of soil health and reclamation as well as boosting farmers’ income. With respect to the latter, the Vice-Chancellor advised all functionaries to demonstrate the idea of crop diversification in farmers’ fields rather than forcing them for the same. He directed that all extension activities be built around telling the farmer to either reduce 20 per cent area under the current crop or to increase his income by 20 per cent. Thus all farm visits or training camps must highlight the mission of sustainable agriculture and prosperous farmer, he stated.

 

On the paddy straw management front, Tewari introduced PAU’s newly developed Smart Seeder; a combination of PAU Happy Seeder and Super SMS for efficient in situ straw management.

 

Dr Sukhdev Singh Sidhu, Director Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Punjab lauded the scientists and extension functionaries for their contribution to the highest ever paddy production and the state contribution to the central pool.

 

Dr Sidhu highlighted the issues of herbicide and yellow rust resistance in wheat, affordable machinery and management of pests in CRM crops. He urged to eliminate the presence of residues in basmati to ensure hitch-free exports. Dry puddle rice, nano fertiliser, groundwater techniques, drip irrigation and inter culture techniques were also discussed.

 

Director of Research, PAU, Dr Navtej Singh Bains outlined the recommended varieties of wheat, berseem, javi, dake followed by recommendations in production technologies, agricultural machinery and crop protection techniques.

 

Earlier, Dr Jaskarn Singh Mahal, Director, Extension Education and Chairman of the session, welcomed the esteemed dignitaries. The programme was coordinated by the Additional Director of Communication, Dr Tejinder Singh Riar. The action taken report was read out by Dr GS Bhuttar.

 

In the end, Dr GPS Sodhi, Additional Director, Extension Education proposed the vote of thanks.

Discussions were held on agricultural sustainability and

Agro chems – Pesticides, Agro Universities

20 cane development inspectors attended the training programme

Regional Research Station, Kapurthala organised a one-day training programme for cane officials of the Cooperative Sugar Mills of Punjab. 20 cane development inspectors attended the training programme.

Dr Paramjit Singh, Director, RRS Kapurthala, emphasised that rigorous and continuous efforts are required to improve productivity and sugar recovery in times to come.
 
Dr GS Sanghera, Principal Sugarcane Breeder and Dr Navdeep Singh Jamwal, Breeder presented the present status of sugarcane varieties in the state and informed the participants regarding sugarcane varieties suitable for autumn and spring planting and their key characteristics for identification, production and protection. Dr Onkar Singh, Dr Rajinder Pal, (Agronomists) and Dr Rajan Bhatt (Soil Scientist) deliberated improved cultivation practices for sugarcane crops with special emphasis on intercropping and told them regarding judicious use of fertilisers in sugarcane.
 
Dr Rajinder Kumar and Dr Anoosha (Entomologists) shared the information on the judicious use of insecticides for the management of insect pests in sugarcane crops. Dr Anuradha (Plant Pathologist) discussed the management of different diseases in sugarcane.
 
Dr Lenika Kashyap (Biochemist) proposed the vote of thanks and discussed the processing of sugarcane for quality jaggery production.

20 cane development inspectors attended the training

AgroPolicy, Sustainable Energy

The traditional Jhum cultivation has become unsustainable primarily due to the reduced fallow cycle resulting in depletion in soil fertility

Pineapple-based agroforestry, traditionally practised by the ethnic ’Hmar’ tribe in southern Assam, can be a sustainable alternative to jhum cultivation for North East India. The traditional practice can provide twin solutions for climate change and biodiversity loss, according to a new study.

 

Jhum cultivation, also called swidden agriculture, the dominant agricultural practice in the region, has become unsustainable primarily due to the reduced fallow cycle resulting in depletion in soil fertility, severe soil erosion, and low agronomic productivity. Hence, North East India and many south Asian countries are shifting to agroforestry and high-value cropping systems from traditional jhum practices over the past decades, which are considered sustainable and profitable alternatives. Researchers are looking for agroforestry options that would also offer high C storage potential and tree diversity to couple this with solutions for challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. 

 

Pineapple Agroforestry Systems (PAFS) are dominant land use in the Indian Eastern Himalayas and other parts of Asia and are mostly grown in association with multipurpose trees. The ethnic ’Hmar’ tribe in southern Assam have been cultivating pineapple for centuries. At present, they practice the indigenous PAFSfor, both home consumption and boosting economic benefits. They have applied traditional knowledge to evolve a unique agroforestry system. 

 

The recent study carried out by the Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University, Silchar, with support from the Climate Change Program Division of the Department of Science & Technology, GoI, assessed the tree diversity and ecosystem carbon storage through traditional agroforestry system practised by the local communities. It showed that the system they practice maintains a steady ecosystem carbon stock while reducing land-use-related carbon emission and providing additional co-benefits to the communities.

 

The study by a research team led by Arun Jyoti Nath, Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University, Silchar was conducted in the ethnic villages located in the Cachar district of Assam, part of the Himalayan foothills and the Indo-Burma centre of global biodiversity hotspot to explore changes in tree diversity and transition of dominant tree species from swidden agriculture through different aged PAFS.

 

It was found that farmers apply traditional knowledge for tree selection through prior knowledge and long-term farming experience. Additionally, fruit trees such as Areca catechu and Musa species are planted on farm boundaries as live fences. The live fence reduces soil erosion and acts as a windbreak and shelterbelt. 

 

A combination of economically important trees like Albiziaprocera, Parkiatimoriana,  Aquilariamalaccensis, as well as fruit trees like papaya, lemon, guava, litchi, and mango with pineapple caters for both home-consumption and selling all year round. The upper canopy trees regulate light, enhance biomass inputs, and increase farm diversity, resulting in soil fertility and improved plant nutrition. The tree-related management practices promote the conservation of the farmers’ favoured indigenous fruit trees. In the older pineapple agroforestry farms, farmers introduce rubber trees.

 

The research shows that the practice can be applied for the REDD+ mechanism to add to the carbon capturing and reducing deforestation by contributing to tree cover, which may further incentivise against the carbon credit to the poor farmers. 

 

The study published in the Journal of Environmental Management recently can provide information about emission factors for the indigenous agro-ecosystems in North East India for mitigation purposes, which may also facilitate the formulation of incentives for the communities under the REDD + mechanism. It would also equip forest managers with information for accounting for the changes in the C storage due to deforestation and jhum cultivation.

The traditional Jhum cultivation has become unsustainable

AgroPolicy, Oilseeds

A financial outlay of Rs11,040 crore out has been chalked out of which Rs 8,844 crore will be the share of GoI

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval to launch a new mission on oil palm to be known as the National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) as a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme with a special focus on the North East region and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 

 

A financial outlay of Rs 11,040 crore has been made for the scheme, out of which Rs 8,844 crore is the Government of India share and Rs 2,196 crore is State share and this includes the viability gap funding also. 

 

Under this scheme, it is proposed to cover an additional area of 6.5 lakh hectare (ha.) for oil palm till the year 2025-26 and thereby reaching the target of 10 lakh hectares ultimately. The production of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) is expected to go up to 11.20 lakh tonnes by 2025-26 and up to 28 lakh tonnes by 2029-30. 

 

The scheme will immensely benefit the oil palm farmers, increase capital investment, create employment generation, shall reduce the import dependence and also increase the income of the farmers.

 

There are two major focus areas of the scheme. The oil palm farmers produce Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFBs) from which oil is extracted by the industry. Presently the prices of these FFBs are linked to the international CPO prices fluctuations. For the first time, the Government of India will give price assurance to the oil palm farmers for the FFBs. This will be known as the Viability Price (VP). This will protect the farmers from the fluctuations of the international CPO prices and protect them from

 the volatility. 

 

The VP shall be the annual average CPO price of the last five years adjusted with the wholesale price index to be multiplied by 14.3 per cent. The assurance will inculcate confidence in the Indian oil palm farmers to go for the increased area and thereby more production of palm oil. A Formula price (FP) will also be fixed which will be 14.3 per cent of CPO and will be fixed monthly. The viability gap funding will be the VP-FP and if the need arises, it would be paid directly to the farmer’s accounts in the form of DBT. 

 

The second major focus of the scheme is to substantially increase the assistance of inputs/interventions. A substantial increase has been made for planting material for oil palm and this has increased from Rs 12,000 per ha to Rs 29000 per ha. Further, a substantial increase has been made for maintenance and inter-cropping interventions. Special assistance @ Rs 250 per plant is being given to replant old gardens for rejuvenation of old gardens. 

 

 

 

 

A financial outlay of Rs11,040 crore out

Environment, Sustainable Energy

COP26 will be held in Glasgow in November this year

Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav extended India’s full support to the UK for COP26 to be held in Glasgow in November this year. Yadav stated that India is always committed to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Framework and its Paris Agreement, and will work constructively for successful and balanced outcomes at the Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).

The environment minister had a detailed meeting with Alok Sharma, COP26 President-Designate, the UK in New Delhi, wherein discussions were held on issues relating to climate change, COP26, India-UK 2030 Roadmap, and other related matters.

“India believes that climate actions must be nationally determined and strongly advocates that the differentiation and operationalisation of flexibility provided in the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement for developing countries should be at the core of decision-making,” emphasised Yadav.

The environment minister also mentioned the global initiatives spearheaded by India under the leadership of Narendra Modi for tackling climate change viz. Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT), Coalition on Coalition Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and International Solar Alliance (ISA).

COP26 President-Designate, UK, Alok Sharma sought the support of India on the COP 26 Initiatives launched by the UK and for a successful COP at Glasgow and acknowledged India’s leadership role. Both the leaders also exchanged views on important climate negotiation agenda items to be deliberated in the upcoming COP26 at Glasgow.
 

COP26 will be held in Glasgow in